Challenger Society Ocean Wind Waves 2026
7th Meeting of the Special Interest Group
The meeting will welcome contributions spanning the full spectrum of wave research, from fundamental physics to applied coastal and offshore engineering.
We invite presentations addressing observational, theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies of waves across scales, including wind–wave generation, nonlinear wave dynamics, wave–current interaction, wave breaking and turbulence, spectral wave modelling, remote sensing of waves, and the role of waves in coastal and ocean processes. Contributions that link wave dynamics with coastal hazards, offshore infrastructure, climate variability, and air–sea interaction are particularly encouraged. The aim is to foster discussion across disciplines and communities working on ocean waves, promoting exchange between researchers using field observations, laboratory experiments, numerical modelling, and emerging data-driven approaches.
Interactive Laboratory Session
As part of the workshop programme, participants will have the opportunity to visit and actively engage in experiments at the Hydrodynamics Laboratory at Imperial College London.
This interactive session will include demonstrations and hands-on discussion around several ongoing experimental facilities: short-crested wave generation in the Deep Water Basin, wave transformation over coastal bathymetry in the Coastal Flume, and wind–wave interaction experiments in the Double-Ended Wind–Wave Flume.
Attendees will be able to observe experiments in operation, discuss measurement techniques and scaling issues, and exchange ideas on how laboratory studies can inform field observations and numerical modelling of ocean waves.
Register to attend the meeting at:
https://noc-events.co.uk/form/waves-event-registration
Meeting agenda
9:00 = coffee and registration
9:30 = Welcome & housekeeping
Session 1
Paul Taylor, University of Western Australia – Australia is different: an oceanic wave climate for offshore wind
Jean Bidlot, ECMWF – Recent updates to ECMWF forecasting systems
Pau Luque, NCAS, University of Reading – Effect of Sea-Level and Wind-Wave Coupling on Simulations of Tropical Cyclones in Southeast Asia
Weimen (Stanley) Shen, Imperial College – Lagrangian particle tracking beneath second-order random waves: from passive particle to plastic particle
10:30 Session 2
Zhanyuan Tian, Imperial College – Automated Optical Tracking and Characterization of Oceanic Wave Breaking
Ed Roome, Bangor University – Sea states with enhanced rogue wave probabilities: Observations from wave buoys in UK coastal waters
Ben Timmermans, NOC – Validation of the latest long term satellite observations from the ESA Sea State Climate Change Initiate (CCI) project
Ioannis Karmpadakis, Imperial College – Imperial Hydrodynamics Laboratory: Recent advancements and opportunities
11:30 Interactive Laboratory Session
This interactive session at the Hydrodynamics Laboratory at Imperial will include demonstrations and hands-on discussion around ongoing experimental facilities:
• Short-crested wave generation in the Deep Water Basin
• Wave transformation over coastal bathymetry in the Coastal Flume
• Wind–wave interaction experiments in the Double-Ended Wind–Wave Flume.
1pm = Lunch provided
2pm = Session 3
Xinyu Liu, University of Oxford – Fast computation of bound components of free surface gravity waves
Jialun Chen, University of Oxford – Machine Learning Approximations of Nonlinear Four-Wave Interactions in Ocean Wave Models
Haiqi Fang, University of Oxford – Focusing of unidirectional and directionally spread wave groups on deep water
3pm = Session 4
Richard Gibson, Offshore Consulting Group – A 12,000 year simulation of waves and winds in the North and Norwegian Seas
Adrian Callaghan, Imperial College – Using the ECMWF Spectral Wave Model to Estimate Air-Sea Gas Transfer
Charlotte Moss, University of Manchester – Extreme waves across abrupt depth transitions
Vanessa Katsardi, University of Thessaly -Formation and understanding of extreme sea surface water waves in deep and intermediate water depths
4pm wrap-up & depart